The Death of Me
by Smile-I'mTheEndOfAllThatYouSee
Summary: Physical death is a great tragedy, but the death of who you are is even greater. After a fallout with his family and a fight gone horribly wrong, Mikey must choose which tragedy he'd rather endure. Now a two-shot!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so after reading _Mikey's Predicament _by: dondena, _Hurt _by: AlyCat3, and _Last Words _by: ChiakiAngel, I was inspired to do a similar fic but with my own similar plot twist. Then the ideas of individuality vs. conformity took hold and this is the result. Thank you, Simone Robinson. Your fanfics, especially _No More Chances_ have been used for inspiration in dialogue. Disclaimer: Don't own Ninja Turtles, "Pork and Beans", and "The Pretender".**

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><p><em>I'mma do the things<br>That I wanna do  
>I ain't got a thing<br>To prove to you  
>I'll eat my candy<br>With the pork and beans  
>Excuse my manners<br>If I make a scene  
>I ain't gonna wear<br>The clothes that you like  
>I'm finally dandy<br>With the me inside  
>One look in the mirror<br>And I'm tickled pink  
>I don't give a hoot<br>About what you think_

- "Pork and Beans" by: Weezer

It was evening training, and we were supposed to be meditating, but knowing me, I couldn't stay still long enough. I'm pretty sure I have ADHD or something like that. Point is I can't concentrate during meditation. I don't know how Leo does it. I started humming a "Weird Al" Yankovic song, and pretty soon, I was tapping my foot against the floor and snapping my fingers.

I guess I was too loud because Master Splinter hissed, "Michelangelo, enough with that racket. _Focus!"_

I gulped and tried my hardest to stay still and quiet. Honestly, I tried, but the sound of "Canadian Paradise" crept into my mind again and pretty soon I mumble part of the refrain and chuckled at the song's humor. This earned me a hit in the head by my sensei's cane.

"_Ouch!"_

Lesson One: If prone to having songs stuck inside your head, never listen to any of "Weird Al" Yankovic's songs unless you wanted to be scolded and hit on the head by your sensei.

I took a peek at Master Splinter's expression and saw annoyance, frustration, (disappointment?) on his face. My smile quickly vanished, and I put up with the throbbing pain as I quickly got back to meditation. You think that between Raph and Master Splinter's cane that my head would be used to being slapped and caned at but no. Stupid, not-resisting-pain, head. I'm pretty sure caning counts as child abuse, but I don't say anything about it.

Finally, after thirty more minutes of this stupid meditation exercise, we were free to leave. I was thrilled. I was about to skip out the dojo and report to military service at the hands of _Call of Duty: Black Ops_, but Master Splinter stopped that from happening. He put a paw on my shoulder and asked, "My son, may I see you in the dojo for a minute?"

Even though he was asking, I knew I didn't really have a choice so I just said, "Sure." He's just probably going to lecture me, maybe have me do a few exercises, and that would be it. Nothing too big so I followed him and knelt on the tatami mat. Mater Splinter knelt in front of me and five minutes of awkward silence existed between us. If this were _Jeopardy_, the theme song would be playing right now. I fight the urge to whistle it right now. I'm already in an enough trouble as it is.

"Michelangelo," Master Splinter started to say. I nearly jump out of my skin. I haven't expected him to speak yet. "I wanted to speak to you about your behavior in the dojo recently. During these past few days, you have become inattentive and often fool around. Many times I have told you to silence yourself and focus. Yet, you continued to go on with your foolishness. I even had to use my cane to get your attention which seemed to have worked. My son, do you know why I am so strict with you and your brothers during training?"

"Uhhhh, because you like to torture us?" I gave a sheepish smile.

Master Splinter caned me on the head again. "No, my son, it is because I want you four to know how to defend yourselves when faced with danger. I cannot bare to lose any of you, but if you continue to goof off, you will miss out on an important lesson of self-defense in the art of ninjitsu. Look at your brothers. They pay attention and train hard. They do not goof off and always stay focused. On the other hand, you have seemed to be inattentive during my lessons and choose to fool around over training. Do you want your antics to be the cause of your death?"

A large, solid rock – no, boulder – dropped down into the pit of my stomach as my father's words, _Do you want your antics to be the cause of your death, _echo in my head. He's basically saying that who I am will be the death of me. He wants me to change, to grow up, like Leo, Raph, and Donny, but I can't do that. Doing that will destroy my own individuality, and my own individuality makes me unique – makes me who I am. I can't change that for the world even if there's the potential it will kill me.

Suddenly, I feel angry because another revelation just hit me. Master Splinter, _my own father_, doesn't love who I really am. He wants me to be somebody else. Somebody I'm not. I want to say something that conveys how I really feel. Some kind of comeback I can say, but my mind draws a blank. So I hide my anger and in a happy voice I say, "Oh come on, Sensei, just because I fool around doesn't mean I'm gonna end up dead. I'm just not into this whole ninja stuff as Leo and Raph are. I mean it's not like I'm gonna be a ninja when I grow up." What I said was true. I want to be a graphic novelist when I grow up. The only thing cool about being a ninja is knowing how to defend yourself. I don't plan on being a hardcore ninja like Leo plans to.

Master Splinter just looks on me. Disappointment clearly evident on his face. He lowers his head and sighs. "Oh, Michelangelo, just what am I suppose to do with you."

A smaller rock dropped down into my gut. This feels almost as worse as when Master Splinter said that I needed to change my personality, but the feeling still triumphs any punishment he could give me. I wanted to say something, _anything,_ to stop this feeling of failure inside me, but I couldn't. Instead, I got up and left. Master Splinter didn't stop me nor did he get up. As soon as I closed the door, he began meditating. I didn't want to feel like crap the whole evening so I continued with my original plans for the evening – play _Call of Duty: Black Ops._

For awhile, it put me in a good mood, but it didn't have the lasting effect I wanted it to. Maybe seeing what Don's up to will cheer me up. I saved my game and turned off the system. I skipped over to Don's lab and barged right in (much to Don's dismay). "Hey, Donny! Whatcha doin'?"

"Go away, Mikey," growled Don. "I'm working on something very important, and I don't need _you _interrupting me." He must still be pissed over the prank I pulled on him using his chemistry set.

My mood still unfazed, I said, "Oh come on, Donny, whatcha working on?" I looked over his shoulder and noticed notes about DNA and the green goo that mutated us. I also saw a beaker containing some of the goo that the Utroms gave him right before they teleported back to their home planet. Either Don is doing an experiment on the goo or he's trying to learn its secrets. Either way it's something I would never do.

I move my head for a closer look. Don's notebook looks like it was written in Latin or something, and all his math equations look like kanji or Hebrew. I move my arm back and accidently knock over a vile filled with some kind of clear liquid. The vile doesn't break. It just leans against the beaker, but the clear liquid pours into the beaker filled with that mutating goo. The goo bubbles and foams up. It erupts like a volcano and pours all over Don's notes. The goo (more like green foam) stops bubbling, but it spills onto the floor.

I knew Don wasn't too happy. I could see an emotion beyond annoyance written on his face. I smile sheepishly, "Whoops. Sorry, Don."

Don's expression didn't change, and I knew that staring at him with puppy dog eyes will not get him to forgive me this time. Still Don didn't yell as he said, "Get out, Mikey."

I did feel bad for what I did to Don's experiment. I mean, it was important to him so before I left, I said, "Do you want me to help you clean up."

"No!"

"If it's any consolation, my blunder may have led to some kind of new scientific discovery for you. A lot of cool stuff and discoveries came about from accidents." I read that in some scientific magazine lying around Don's room while I was snooping around, looking for him.

"Get out, Mikey!"

"Alright, I'm leaving."

Just as I was about to leave, I heard Don mumble, "If you just went away for one day, I could get so much done."

This hurt hearing Don say this. Yeah, I know Don is annoyed whenever I interrupt him, but I never would think that he wished me gone. Nah, Don's just saying that. He doesn't mean that. He's just pissed that I ruined his little science experiment again. Knowing this, I wandered off to find Leo. Turns out that Leo was in the dojo practicing some katas. Shocker. I guess Master Splinter must have left the dojo and headed to his room or else Leo wouldn't be in the dojo. No one disturbs Master Splinter and lives to tell the tale.

"Hey, Leo, how's it going?" I greeted.

Leo was about to perform some kind of flying dragon kick when he yelled out of surprise and fell down. Leo collected his bearings and saw me standing at the entrance to the dojo. I waved at him. "Mikey, can't you see that I'm training?"

Hello to you, too, big brother. "Well, yeah, duh."

"Then why did you interrupt me? Is there something you need?"

"Nah. Just wanted to say hi to my big brother Leo." Then I gave him my famous Mikey grin.

Leo just sighed. Obviously, he wasn't in the mood. "If you don't need anything, then please leave me alone." I was about to leave when Leo said, "Actually, you should probably do some training right now. Lately, you have been slacking off. Your katas are sloppy, and your mind is undisciplined. Master Splinter is right, you know? If you don't focus and train hard, you might fall victim to your enemies. Perhaps, I can show you…"

"You overheard what Master Splinter was saying to me, right?"

Leo smiled guiltily. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I was waiting for you two to finish whatever you were doing in the dojo so I can do some extra training. I couldn't help but overhearing what was being said, but Master Splinter does have a point. I can help you with your training right now."

Me? Training? Yeah, right. Besides, Leo agrees with Master Splinter. They both want me to grow up. "Nah, I'm good, Leo. I don't want to eat, breathe, and live the way of a ninja. You can do that." I left without giving Leo the last word. I head to the garage to find Raph. Raph is my own personal hero. Maybe, we can hang out together.

Raph was working on his motorcycle when I stepped in. "Hey, Raph!"

Raph just grunted. That isn't good enough for me.

I entered into the garage. Raph raised an eye at me. "If you mess up my bike or try to annoy me, I will beat the crap out of you."

"Relax, Raphie boy, I just wanna hang out with my favorite bro." I said as innocently as possible.

"Yeah, right, and don't call me 'Raphie'."

"Why not? You liked that nickname when you were little."

"Yeah, well, not any more. Now if you're just hear to bother me about my name, then get out," Raph threatened.

As usual, Raph's threats normally don't scare me. "Awww. Someone seems grumpy today. Does someone need a hug?"

"Mikey," Raph growled.

I hopped over to wear my big brother was and threw my arms around his neck. This ticked off an even more rage filled turtle as he got up, grabbed my arm, and pulled me forward off his back. I landed on my shell on the hard, cement floor. I groaned in pain.

"Now, unless you want your shell to hurt even more than it already does, I suggest you get the shell out of here."

I got up rubbing where it hurt most. "Why? Don't you love me?" I gave him my puppy dog eyes, but for the second time in my life, it didn't work. Instead, Raph slapped me on the back of my head.

I rubbed the back of my head. "Alright, fine. You just can't handle love and affection."

Raph looked like he was about to slap the backside of my head again so I instantly ran out of the garage. I still was not happy. Then a brand new idea popped into my head: I should pull a prank. An epic prank that will target all three of my brothers! That will make me laugh. I ran into my room to plan my ultimate prank. I thought of some ideas and written them down in my Notebook of Evil, but I crossed them out in not being epic enough. Finally, I came up with the perfect one. It was too irresistible. I started to have fits of giggles because of how hilarious the outcome will be.

I reached under my bed and grabbed three packs of water balloons, a large fisherman net, and some rope. This was going to be so good! Using all my ninja stealth, I raced to the bathroom where I filled all the water balloons. This took about an hour. Tying them was the hard part, and I even broke one or two balloons. Oh well, at least I have plenty more. I filled the net with my precious treasure and used part of the rope to tie the net. Then I skipped over to the second floor where I tied the bag over the balcony. It was a perfect location right underneath the entrance to the living room. I ran to my room to grab a piece of chalk and jumped down to the first floor. Using the chalk, I drew a big X right underneath my secret weapon.

Then I quickly ran upstairs to room to trade in my chalk for scissors, and I waited right by my secret weapon to cut off part of the netting to unleash the watery horror. I so can't wait for this to happen. But waiting was long and about an hour later, Raph, Don, and Leo emerged from their hiding places and headed over to the living room. I waited in anticipation.

Finally, Leo, Don, and Raph walked over where X marks the spot, and to my utter delight, they stayed there obviously wondering what the hell is a giant X drawn on the floor for. Well they are about to find out. I cut most of the bottom of the net, and water balloons poured out right onto them.

"MIKEY!"

I laughed so hard that I nearly couldn't breathe. Literally! Unfortunately, they weren't laughing, and I couldn't get the hell outta here without the guys seeing me.

I jumped down. "Hey, guys. Did you have a water balloon fight or something?"

"Cut the crap, Mikey!" Raph yelled. I giggled. Whoops! Shouldn't have laughed because Raph growled menacingly and looked like he was about to kill me.

"What the hell was that, Mikey?" Don asked.

"A prank. What else?" I nonchalantly said.

"Yeah, I figured that, but what the _hell _was that?" Don repeated. Man, he was pissed!

I shrugged my shoulders. "I was feeling a bit down in the dumps so I decided to pull the most awesome prank in the universe."

All three of my brothers exchanged looks of disgust.

"Unbelievable," Don simply stated.

"What?" I asked confusedly.

Leo answered for Don. "You're sixteen-years-old, Mikey. _Grow up!_"

I tried to keep my cool when facing three angry brothers. "Why should I? This is who I am, bros. Like it or leave it."

"Oh, we'll leave it alright," Raph grumbled under his breath. Leo just stared at him.

Then Leo said, "Because if you don't grow up, Michelangelo, you're gonna get us killed one day. You never train when you're supposed to; you never focus during meditation exercises, and you rather be doing things that a ten-year-old would do. How would you be able to live with yourself if your foolishness gets us killed?" Leo's lecture was starting to remind me of Splinter's lecture, and it was getting on his nerves. Hot tears welled up in his eyes and stung them. I wiped his eyes. I had to keep it in, but what Leo said next stabbed me in the heart. "If you don't start changing for the good of the family, I'll have to cut you off from the team until I see an improvement in you."

Cut me off from the team? In this family, saying you're cut off from the team is like saying you are disowned as a brother. And I think I just got threatened to be disowned. My heart was throbbing in agony, but I have to keep the pain hidden from them. Keep them from getting some kind of satisfaction from my pain.

Then Raph decided to make matters worse. "Damn, Mikey. You really screwed up. You're lucky if we forgive you next year." He's not serious. He always forgives me. He doesn't hold grudges forever. Still, it hurts.

Then Master Splinter entered the scene of my crime. He was annoyed. I guess what was going on here interrupted his evening meditation – a huge no-no in the family. He somehow managed to hold down his impatience as he asked (more like snapped), "What is going on here, my sons?"

I was going to open my mouth to answer, but Leo beat me to it. "Mikey pulled a prank on us by dropping a couple pounds of water balloons on us, and none of us are too happy about it." Leo finished his explanation with a death glare directed at me. I glared back.

Master Splinter sighed. He was obviously disappointed that I did not take his lecture to heart. Oh well, sucks for him. "Michelangelo, clean up this mess. I do not want to hear another word from you, or you will be doing extra training for a week." He seemed angrier than all those other times he's been mad at me. I can tell by the slight raise in his voice. When you often get in trouble, you learn to read your parent's negative emotions.

Master Splinter retreated to the dojo. I couldn't tell if Leo, Don, and Raph were either happy that Master Splinter took their side or pissed because they felt that Master Splinter was too soft on me. There was nothing they could do about it so they trudged off to the bathroom to get cleaned up while I slaved over the remains of my most awesome prank ever. Picking up the remains of the water balloons wasn't so bad but cleaning up the water off the floor was. I think I ran through all the paper towels we had that were meant to last us a month. When my bros came back, Raph chuckled at the sight of me furiously trying to dry the floor and remarked, "Missed a spot, Mikey."

I ceased from my work. "Haha. Very funny."

Raph grinned his most evil grin, and Don smirked at me. Seeing me cleaning up this mess brought him such pleasure. That jerk! Leo just shook his head. "You brought this on yourself, Michelangelo." I just glared daggers at Leo and continued to clean the floor. My bros hopped to the living room to watch TV. Darn them! They were having fun while I was stuck with this mess.

Finally, I finished, but I didn't want to be with my bros so I retreated to my room and listened to my iPod. I wisely avoided all the "Weird Al" Yankovic songs on my iPod. I tried to listen to some up beating music to ease the pain in my heart. Cut me off the team? How can Leo do that? He's my big bro. He would never abandon me or Don or Raph. He loves us too much. Leo was just mad. He would never seriously consider cutting me off the team. Right?

Man, today has been really bad so far. So far my all of my family is majorly pissed at me. To top it all off, Master Splinter is disappointed in me just because I don't want to change, and I don't aspire to be a great ninja like him or Leo. Honestly, his disappointment shouldn't really bother me. It's not like I ever did anything to make him super proud of me. I learned over the years to not let disappointment hurt you. I don't need anyone else's pride or acceptance of me. I'm happy with just myself. Then why does it still hurt?

My iPod was not having the effect I wanted so I decided to turn it off. Perhaps a nice cool run will help clear my head. I'll even bring my sketchpad just in case I find anything interesting to draw. That should work. I grab my sketchpad and some pencils and an eraser and put them in a small backpack and flung it over my shell. I slowly crept out of my room and jumped down from the balcony. I was going to sneak off, but I guess that I should let my bros know where I'm going. They may be mad at me, but they still love me.

They were still in the living room. "Hey, guys," I called out, "I'm heading out topside."

Leo nodded in understanding while Don just pretended to ignore me. However, Raph shouted, "Take your time and don't come back. And if we never see ya again, it'll be too damn fucking soon!"

Leo and Don never said anything.

Man that stung. I practically ran out of the lair and jumped from rooftop to rooftop in blind fury and teary eyes. I seriously contemplate running away. So much for Raph holding grudges. So much for my bros still loving me. This day has gotten even worse. My speed kicks up. I feel like I can run forever. I can run around the world six times and not get tired. Maybe I should. I should run forever until either my legs literally fall off or my rage cools down. I wonder if Raph ever feels like this whenever he goes topside after a fight with Leo. I wonder when he does, he feels the same way I feel right now – everybody wants you to be someone else and you refuse to change.

I keep running. Pretty soon my ankles are going to sprout little angel wings like those of that Greek god. I was always good at running. I beat my bros at every race we ever had, and I still have plenty of energy left over. I'm probably a sprinter, but we had races that were two miles long. Maybe, I have a rare combo of speed like that of a sprinter and endurance like that of a long distance runner. I wonder if I could try out for the Summer Olympics if I were a human.

I'm in the bad area of the city where most of the crimes are committed and the drug trafficking business takes place. It's this place I begin to cool down and eventually settle to a walk. I'm miles and miles away from home. That's the farthest I've ever been out on my own, and probably the farthest any of my bros ever been out on their own. I kind of like the feeling. I should make this my new getaway place (my other place is by the river). No one would ever think to find me here, and it's pretty far from the Lair. I settle sit down on a rooftop and look up at the sky. The stars are much more visible than they are closer to the heart of the city. I'm about to take out my sketchpad when I heard a scream. I instantly change into warrior mode as I peer down a rooftop and see a gang of men that look to be in their twenties and a girl that looks to be eighteen in the alleyway. The men were cornering the girl to the blocked off end of the alley way. My guess is that either these men want to rob the chick (which I highly doubt because she seems as poor as they are) or are going to rape the girl (she is hot). Either way I leap into action. My nunchucks are spinning as I stand between the girl and the gang of men.

"Come on, guys. Leave the girl alone," I say as calmly as possible, hoping they would take my advice and leave.

They don't. Why am I not surprised? Instead, they pull out knives, chains, or whatever weapons they had. I noticed that none of them have a gun, and for that I'm grateful. It's easier to fight an opponent when they don't have a gun. They charge at me, and I hit them with my nunchucks while throwing some kicks and punches every now and then along with a bunch of jokes just to get them mad. These guys are amateurs. They only know street fighting not something as highly skilled as ninjutsu. I have the advantage here.

I dodge a blow to my head, and I'm happy I did. One blow from that pipe looked like it could have given me a serious concussion. I elbowed the guy in the gut and roundhouse kicked another who was coming at me with a chain. I have to admit that do have some skill. Usually, I can easily knock a bunch of guys out cold when I fight gang members like the Purple Dragons o even the Foot, but so far, I haven't managed to sent any of these guys to la la land. They're good.

I glance over my shoulder and see the girl staring at the fight scene in terror. I shout to her, "Get out of here!"

She smartly follows my advice and gets the hell out of here. Damn she's fast. She should join the track team. However, because I'm watching the girl runaway, making sure she's safe, I didn't see one of the guys come at me with a knife and plunge it in my heart.

Everything went blurry after that.

A siren was heard in the distance, and everyone ran, leaving me with a blade and agony ripping through me. I sunk down to the dirty street and laid there. My plastron is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it slowed down the blade otherwise I would have been instantly killed. It's a curse because it leaves me with sheer agony, and if I pull it out, I could die. The police siren begins to fade away. I guess they saw some of the guys and chased after them. Good. I didn't have the energy to get myself out of here. How would the guys react if they saw a news report of a giant mutant turtle founded in the alleyway in Soundview neighborhood of the South Bronx? I'm already in trouble with the guys, and it's bad enough as it is. I didn't need to add the discovery of mutant turtles to the list. They would surely kill me for that if this blade doesn't kill me first.

I unleash a feral scream. The agony is killing me. It's like it's ripping through me like a child furiously tearing away wrapping paper to reveal his gift. Only this time the blade is the child, and my skin is the wrapping paper. And what is the gift? My heart. My heart that was already stabbed when Leo threatened to cut me off from the team. My heart that was already painfully stung when Raph said told me to never come back just before I left the Lair. My heart that was already broken when Donny said that if I just disappeared, he could get so much work done. My heart that already had a noose around it when Master Splinter was disappointed in how I turned out to be. Heh. What can the knife do that has not been done? It's just finishing the job.

I reached for my Shell Cell to dial for help when a revelation it me like a Mack truck going sixty-five miles per hour. It came in the form of memories.

_Do you want your antics to be the cause of your death?_

_If you just went away for one day, I could get so much done._

_How would you be able to live with yourself if your foolishness gets us killed?_

_Take your time and don't come back. And if we never see ya again, it'll be too damn fucking soon!_

I chuckled darkly because what they said is coming true. I'm never coming back, Raph, for real. Don, your wish is coming true. Leo, I won't be putting you guys in danger anymore because I'll be dead, and Master Splinter and I guess Leo since what you said was similar to Master Splinter' lecture, my antics did cause the death of me, and yet I have absolutely no regrets. I fooled around with my opponents, and I was so focused on the girl that I wasn't paying attention to that guy with the knife. But despite this, I have no regrets. In fact a feeling of bliss welled up inside of me, and its beautiful feeling heals the emotional damage to my heart with this one simple epiphany. I died doing what I do best and just by being me and not by being someone else. I couldn't ask for a better way to die.

I took my hand off my Shell Cell. I decided not to call because what's the point in going back? I don't want to live the life of a masked face and conformity. No, I rather die being myself than live as though I'm someone else. However, I didn't want to spend my remaining hours in pain so I made that fateful decision. I took the blade out of my heart. The pain was intense but quickly ended as I faded off into the darkness.

And within the darkness, a bright light shone.

_What if I say I'm not like the others?_

_What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?_

_You're the pretender_

_What if I say I will never surrender?_

- "The Pretender" by: Foo Fighters

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><p><strong>Do you like it? Did I get Mikey's point of view right?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Due to popular demand, I have decided to make this a two-shot. I hope this was as good and as meaniful as the first chapter because that is what I was afraid of when continuing this. That a second chapter would not only lack meaning as the first did, but demean the meaning and purpose of the first chapter. Hopefully, it didn't happen. Disclaimer: I don't own Ninja Turtles**

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><p>"<em>The reward for conformity was that everyone liked you except yourself." <em>– Rita Mae Brown

Master Splinter sat in the locus pose as he tried to clear his mind and focus on his evening meditation. However, no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts wandered back to his youngest son Michelangelo. He had just scolded him for pulling a prank on his three brothers. Nearly an hour later, he heard Michelangelo leave the lair, but that was three hours ago, and Master Splinter could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. He knew this feeling had to do with Michelangelo, but he had just lost his patience with him earlier and did not want to be interrupted from his meditation. If Michelangelo interrupted him again or cause a ruckus between his brothers, he was sure to lose it with him something that has never happened came close many times.

Master Splinter sighed as he replayed the conversation he had with his son after his sons' evening training. He loved his son no matter how much he fooled around during training, but he can't help but be disappointed. Ninjutsu was in the blood of the Hamato clan. Those who were trained in the ways of ninjutsu prided themselves in being called ninja. Splinter – although not related by blood – felt that same pride and saw it in his three older sons. Michelangelo, however, couldn't care less. Don't get him wrong. He wanted his sons to explore their own interests and hobbies, and he was glad Michelangelo did that, but even Donatello, who had a great interest in science and could be the world's greatest scientist took pride in being a ninja. Donatello diligently trained with his brothers and was focused during meditation. Michelangelo, it seems, is more focused when watching TV than when meditating.

Master Splinter still could not shake this feeling from his gut, and then his past word he had said to his son floated in his mind: _Do you want your antics to be the cause of your death? _As Master Splinter thought back to his lecture, Michelangelo seemed angry and saddened when he said this. Was he too hard on him? _No, _Master Splinter thought, _if he does not straighten himself up, he really can come to his own demise._ However, a small part in his mind said that those words did more harm than good and that Michelangelo was right and he was wrong. That same part of his mind told him to follow his gut feeling. Master Splinter quickly silenced the small part in his mind. He knew Michelangelo wanted nothing more to follow his dreams and let the whole world see him for whom he really is, but Master Splinter knew this world could not accept his son for who he is much less let Michelangelo follow his dreams. It was better if he just became a ninja and hid in the shadows abandoning those dreams for the reality of his situation.

The gut feeling was getting so bad that Master Splinter gave up on further meditation. Perhaps, Michelangelo had returned home and his fears were unfounded. He silently walked to the living room to find his three eldest sons watching a show but no Michelangelo. "Leonardo," he asked, "has Michelangelo returned home yet?"

Leonardo looked at his sensei. "No, Master Splinter." Leonardo was a tiny bit worried. If he weren't so mad at his brother, he would be rounding up his other brothers on a search-and-rescue mission.

"I see then." The feeling seemed to scream now a sharp contrast from its usual constant nag. The feeling grew louder almost escaping as words. It screamed, _If you don't find your son, you will lose him! Something is seriously wrong!_

Leonardo turned his head back to the show they were watching. Master Splinter's questioning of Michelangelo's whereabouts led him to think about his youngest brother for a little bit. Anger prevented him from thinking about him for long. Michelangelo left three hours ago. The three hour break was a very nice change from constant paranoia of pranks, interruptions of important lessons, constant pestering, and conquest over the TV. Only sixteen-years-old and Mikey acted like a ten-year-old. Why couldn't he be more serious, more diligent, and more focused? He knew Mikey didn't mean any harm, but he had to grow up. Be like the rest of them if he was to live this world unscathed and still alive. Michelangelo was a ninja. Not a ten-year-old kid. He needed to grow up – abandon his childish ways – or risk even greater danger and an increased chance death in battle. As much as Leo's lecture hurt Mikey, he deserved to hear it. Perhaps, his time out of the Lair will teach him a lesson. He really didn't want to follow through with his threat and cut Mikey from the team. Leo just hoped that Mikey was okay and not in any danger.

Donatello overheard Master Splinter ask Leo where Mikey was and was thankful that Master Splinter didn't order a search party for Mikey. It seems now that with Mikey out of the Lair, he could get his experiments done. Cleaning his lab seemed to take forever, and it annoyed him so much that he just cleaned it three days ago. Mikey was the sole reason for Don having to clean up his lab. Don just hoped that Mikey didn't anything stupid while he was gone and hoped that the peace and quiet lasted for awhile. When _America's Got Talent _finished, maybe he could go back to his lab and try to finish what Mikey ruined. He could get so much work done. Still, Don felt some empathy for his only youngest brother. Mikey just wants to be himself and that doesn't include ninjutsu. Don didn't want to deal with anything that causes violence. No, his dream is to make a world a better, more peaceful place by using his engineering skills. He thought of plans to make environmentally-friendly transportation, make weapons that didn't kill, improve medical technology. Don wanted to do all that, but he knew that this world couldn't accept him for who and what he is. They would most likely dissect him than hear what he has to create and invent so Don grudgingly took up ninjutsu to protect himself even though ninjas have to kill and sometimes cause wars. He could understand Mikey's turmoil, but Don knew that the world couldn't accept Mikey either so Mikey must become a ninja for self-defense. That's just the way fate made their lives out to be.

Raph tried to pay no attention to what was being said. Usually, he would be worried for his little brother by now. Tonight, however, was an exception. He was so freakin' pissed at that little bozo for pulling that stupid prank on him. Even worse, he felt like an idiot standing on top of that X, wondering what the hell it was doing there for when he should have realized it had Mikey written all over it. Deep in his heart, Raph didn't mean what he said earlier, but right now, he was seeing too much red for him too care. If he saw his little brother's face in the next few hours, he was sure to jump on him and tackle him to the ground. Being the constant victim of Mikey's pranks, Raph had gotten sick of it years ago, but he could never get around into saying how he felt. Tonight, Leo said it all, and Raph was glad for it. However, Raph could not help but feel envious of his little brother. Raph was always on the edge, always ready to jump into battle at the first sign of a threat. This ultimately led to him building a wall of protection and anger around himself to ward off vulnerability. However, Mikey was able to relax and chill out and always expressed his emotions openly and without fear of vulnerability. Sometimes, Raph wished he could be like that, but it is a dog-eat-dog world out there, and Raph is the Big Dog. He had to protect himself. He couldn't afford to be vulnerable.

Soon _America's Got Talent _finished, and Don retreated to his lab while Raph and Leo went to bed. Master Splinter watched his late night soaps. The gut feeling inside of him silenced. It was replaced with dread.

Mikey had not come home.

Master Splinter ignored this new feeling inside of him as he was absorbed in his stories. Donny, on the other hand, was gladly working on learning more about the mutating ooze without fear of interruptions. He had to admit that he was slightly worried about Mikey, but now that Mikey was topside, he could get so much done. And besides, Mikey could take care of himself. Eventually, Master Splinter went to bed, followed by Don, enthusiastic that he just learned how the ooze mutates. It took him a long time to figure it out due to being pestered by a certain someone, but he finally did it. He couldn't wait till tomorrow to learn more.

* * *

><p>By next morning, Leo, Raph, and Don were eating breakfast when Master Splinter came in. He noticed that his youngest son was not at the table. "My sons," he said. Don, Raph, and Leo looked up at him. "Did Michelangelo return last night?"<p>

All three of the turtles looked at each other. Despite their anger at their brother from last night, they were worried about him. This wasn't Mikey's usual style. Leo turned to his father. "I didn't hear him last night, sensei."

Don, who was up till midnight, also didn't hear Mikey sneaking in the lair. "I was up till twelve, Master Splinter. I didn't hear Mikey coming in."

"Maybe he's in his room, and we just didn't hear him," Raph suggested. He hoped he was right.

Master Splinter chose to believe his second oldest son. "Perhaps, you are right, my son." But something inside of him told him that this was not true.

An hour later, Don, Raph, and Leo were waiting for their sensei by the dojo. Mikey had not woken up. Master Splinter entered and did not see his youngest son. He already had a bad ending on last evening's training with Michelangelo. He did not want to get off with a bad start with Michelangelo. "Raphael, will you please wake up your brother?"

"Sure," Raph said and ran off to Mikey's room. To his luck, the door was unlocked, but to his horror, Mikey was not there. Mikey really didn't come home from last night. Raph knew no matter how mad Mikey may be at them, he would never stay mad at them for long. To still be out topside for twenty-two hours after a fight just wasn't like Mikey. Now Raph was really worried about his little brother.

From the balcony, he shouted, "Mikey's not in his room!"

Don, Leo, and Master Splinter were really worried about Mikey. Turns out he never came home. Now, Master Splinter's wonder if he should have listened to his gut instinct last night. To his sons he said, "Go and find your brother."

The three of them bowed, but before leaving, Don went to his lab to track Mikey's Shell Cell signal. He found it in the Soundview neighborhood of the South Bronx. "Guys, I found him! He's in South Bronx in a neighborhood called Soundview."

"Alright," Leo said, "let's go!"

Because it was daylight, they took the Battle Shell to Soundview, but the ride was in silence. Don took the wheel, and as he concentrated on the road, his mind drifted towards his missing brother, especially what he said to him: _If you just went away for one day, I could get so much done._ Don only meant that if Mikey just stopped entering his lab and bothering him every two seconds he could get everything he wanted done. He didn't mean for Mikey to take his advice so literally, but what if Mikey did? Don shook that feeling out of his mind. No matter how many times Mikey annoyed the shell out of him; Don never wanted Mikey to vanish out of thin air. Just from his lab. He looked over to his GPS which was connected to his laptop showing Mikey's Shell Cell signal. They were getting close.

Leo sat in the passenger's seat. He, too, was worried and was replaying last night's events in his head. Leo remembered saying that if Mikey didn't train hard, he might fall victim to his enemies. Well, what if that was exactly what happened, and the last thing Leo said to Mikey was that if he didn't shape up, he would cut him off the team? If this was true, which he prayed to God that it wasn't, Leo didn't think he could live with himself. He loved his little brother. He didn't want anything bad happen to him. That's why he lectured him on needing to grow up and focus and train more. Leo was afraid of losing anyone of his brothers, but Mikey seemed to be the most vulnerable. Now there was the possibility, Leo would never hear his little brother's childish laugh, never fall victim to his pranks, and never see him again. He needed to get to Mikey and bring him home safely.

_Well, you took your time, Mikey, _Raph, pacing around inside the truck, thought, _but please come back_. Those harsh words he said to his little brother last night seemed like they were coming true, and now Raph regretted saying them. He loved his little brother even though he doesn't show it much. He never wanted to see him harmed. Just the mere thought of him grievously injured causes him violent rage. Raph hoped to see his little brother alive and well when they find him. He'll show Mikey that he's sorry somehow. He just wanted him home and safe. He swore he would kill anyone who might have hurt him or (God forbid) kill him.

Don pulled into a street and parallel parked. "He's somewhere around here."

Leo looked outside. It was a very rundown area but no one in sight. Perhaps, people were afraid to come out of their houses in this neighborhood or they all moved away. "Let's go, but be careful. It's daylight. Anyone might see us."

Don and Raph nodded in understanding and cautiously got out of the Battle Shell. Being extra aware for any people, the three of them searched the street for their missing brother. Don checked out an alleyway and to his relief, saw his brother leaning against a brick wall. Don called out, "I found him, guys! He's in the alleyway!" Don ran to his brother, but when his foot splashed into a small puddle, Don stopped running and inspected the puddle. To his horror, it was red. Blood. Then Don got a really good look at Mikey. He noticed a large gaping hole where the heart is and a knife on the ground. Don crept to his brother. He looked so pale, so still. His eyes were closed. Don touched his skin, feeling for a pulse. He took note of how cold Mikey was. Don felt nothing beneath his skin. Don's blood turned icy as cold as Mikey's skin.

Leo and Raph caught up with Don. They were happy to find their brother, but their looks turned to horror when they saw Mikey. Don's expression told them everything.

"Is he? Is he?" Leo managed to choke. He knew the answer, but he didn't want to believe it.

Don shook his head. "He's dead, Leo. By the looks of it, he's been dead since last night." Shivers ran up Leo's spine, but hot lava boiled inside Raph. All the words they said earlier came true.

"How did he die, Don?" Raph demanded.

"A knife wound to the heart. There's a blade next to him," Don explained, trying to remain as calm as possible as he articulated his words.

Horrible thoughts entered Leo's head. "Do you think he might've…" Leo gulped, "…killed himself." They were so angry with Mikey last night. Hurtful things were said to him. Maybe Mikey committed suicide.

Don shook his head. "No. The blade isn't ours. Actually, it has a symbol to suggest it belongs to a member of some kind of gang around here."

The lava in Raph began to boil even further. A gang member killed his baby brother. He wanted to kill him.

"Come on," Don gently said but his voice was on the edge of crying, "Let's get Mikey home."

Raph picked up Mikey and cradled him bridal style. Raph was on the verge of erupting. He needed to hold his baby brother to calm himself down. It gave him closure. He was also the strongest out of the four. It would be easiest for him to carry Mikey. Don picked up the blade and took it with him. It was the only clue to Mikey's killer.

The ride home was in anguished silence. Raph never let go of Mikey, cradling as though he was rocking a small child to sleep, holding him tight as though if Raph let go of Mikey, Mikey would vanish. He whispered soothing things into Mikey's ear (an ear that will never hear again) and growled at anyone who dared touched him. Anger was one of the five stages of grief, and Raph always dwelled in this stage. He felt hot lava boil inside of him at the very thought of his baby brother murdered and dying alone. It had to be the worst way to go for Mikey, who hated to be alone. Rage boiled inside before giving away to tears. Cradling his little brother in his arms helped give Raph a grip on his emotions and kept him calm. Mikey was the lifesaver in Raph's sea of rage and sorrow. Holding Mikey, however, didn't keep the painful realization hitting Raph like a ton of bricks. He told Mikey to never come back. He told Mikey that if he never saw him again it would be too soon. Mikey's gone. He's dead. His spirit is never coming back only his body. He can take back what he said and rewrite the past. He can't even ask his brother for his forgiveness. He'll never see Mikey alive again. And this realization clawed him from the inside of his mind until his brain was scarred.

Don's hand trembled at the feeling of the blade that killed his little brother. It no longer felt like an ordinary weapon, but a weapon of evil like the weapon the Fates use to cut the string of a person's life. It was this weapon that was used to take his brother's life and will be used to track down his brothers' killers. It was this blade that darkened the sunshine of the Hamato family. Don could barely contain the shaking inside his hand. It was like an earthquake that shook his whole world apart destroyed anything he worked hard to build in his life mainly the relationship with his little brother. Mikey was gone. Truly gone. He could get a lot of things done now. Build even better defense systems for the family; learn even more about the ooze; invent new things; hype up the security systems. He could do all that and more now that Mikey was in another world. Not here to bother him again. He said this to him. Now he wished he could take it all back. He wished Mikey was here to prevent him from getting things done, to play videogames with him, to interrupt him just to ask what he was doing, to make him laugh. He wanted his little brother back and his killer brought to justice.

Leo drove the way home, but it no longer felt like he was driving the Battle Shell. With a dead brother in the truck, it felt like he was driving a hearse instead. The road home was only thirty minutes to an hour depending on traffic, but it felt like a lifetime to Leo. And the road he took was no longer just an ordinary road but the road to heaven. Leo could barely stand it. And to make things worse, the last time he saw his brother was in anger. Now Mikey's last moments with him would be in anger not joy and love. Leo didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. He just insulted Mikey's personality and threatened to cut him off from the team. What kind of big brother was he? Mikey may have been his exact opposite but that was no way to treat him. He failed in trying to understand his brother and now it was too late. The guilt began to eat at him. It was Leo's first response to a tragedy. It ate him alive until he began to heal and learn that there was nothing he could do. Sometimes it takes him a week. Sometimes a year, but usually, he could heal on his own. However, Leo didn't think he could heal from this at all, and if he could, he was probably going to need his family's help.

Leo pulled into the garage. They were finally home. As messengers of death.

* * *

><p>Master Splinter sat in meditation, hoping to find the presence of his youngest child. To his despair, he couldn't find him. He hoped with all his heart that his sons found Michelangelo <em>alive <em>and safe. He remembered his lecture over his son. He remembered how disappointed he was with his son and how Michelangelo simply left the dojo. Then he remembered how impatient and angry he had been with Michelangelo after he pulled a prank over his brothers which disrupted his meditation. He was angry that Michelangelo chose not to listen to his lecture and continued to fool around. He was also angry that Michelangelo had disturbed him from his meditation. Again. Now Master Splinter began to wonder if that would be the last time he would see his son – in anger. No! His son is alright. He had to be. Master Splinter did not know what he would do if he lost any of his sons.

The dreaded feeling welled up inside him as it scolded, _Something was wrong, but you refused to listen. Now it's too late! _Master Splinter vividly remembered how last night, he felt something was wrong with his son but chose to ignore it. Then the feeling was replaced with dread. It disappeared as he retired to his room, but now it is back. Perhaps he should have listened to that gut feeling (maybe it was paternal instinct this whole time) and searched for Michelangelo. He hoped he did not have to pay the price for refusing to listen to his feelings.

He heard the door of the Battle Shell slam. They were home. He rushed to the elevator to greet his sons and to see if they had brought home Michelangelo. As soon as the elevator door opened, Master Splinter's heart stopped for a second as he saw Raphael carrying a dead Michelangelo and the torn and anguished faces of his three oldest sons.

He should have listened to his gut instinct yesterday. Now he has to pay the price.

"My son," Master Splinter choked out as he reached out to touch his son's forehead. Raphael didn't growl in warning and let his father touch his brother. Master Splinter rubbed his son's forehead as the cold reality of his youngest son's death sunk in and the realization that the last time he saw Michelangelo was in anger. He remembered his previous words: _Do you want your antics to be the cause of your death? _They seemed like foreshadowing now.

Leo decided it would be merciful to give his father an explanation. "We found Mikey in an alleyway in a neighborhood called the Soundview neighborhood in South Bronx. Mikey took a knife wound to the heart, and…" Leo began to choke on his words and tears started to pour. He mustered his courage to deliver the rest of the news. "…we found the knife that killed Mikey, and we have reason to believe that someone from some gang killed him."

Although this was true, Don knew there was more to this like why didn't Mikey call for help on his Shell Cell? Judging from the look at Mikey's wound, his plastron slowed down the blade. It didn't look like the killer plunged it deep enough that it killed Mikey on impact. If this was the case, the killer left the blade in his brother's plastron and must have run off, leaving Mikey to slowly die. Mikey should have at least enough time to call for help, but he didn't, and they found the knife on the ground. But this was just a hunch. Don needed to prove this at his lab so he said, "However, I think there's more to how Mikey died, and I need to find out why." To Raph he said, "Can you please take Mikey to my lab and lay him on a cot please?"

Raph just numbly nodded his head and did what he was told.

Confused, Leo asked, "What do you mean, Don?"

Don just shrugged his shoulders. "I just have this feeling that there's more to what happened than just what we know. The wound didn't look deep enough to kill on impact so the killer must have stabbed Mikey and left him there to die. Mikey should have used his Shell Cell to call us, but he didn't. Then the blade was on the ground. Mikey could have pulled it out of him which would have killed him rather than use his Shell Cell. This is just a hunch, but I need answers." In other words, Don needed closure. "By the way, I need your Shell Cells just in case."

Master Splinter, Raph, and Leo happily obliged and left Don alone to do his work. Don performed an autopsy and inspected Mikey's wound. Twice, he threw up. Don used to like to find dead creatures in the sewer and to dissect them. He never killed a creature just for the purpose for science. He was too compassionate for that. Eventually, this led to a profound knowledge of the human body. However, Don never thought he would be performing an autopsy on his own brother! It sickened him to know that his beloved little brother laid dead on the table, and Don was inspecting the wounds as if it were nothing. The idea that is was for Don's closure and that it could possibly bring clues to Mikey's killer's identity brought some comfort. However, it didn't stop the bile from rising up. Don knew this could take awhile for the autopsy to get done. Plus, inspecting each of their Shell Cells including Mikey's could take hours. And he didn't have Mikey to make the prospect of getting all of this done make it seem like an eternity.

To Don's absolute relief, he didn't have to cut his precious brother open. Don probed the wound and found that his hunch was correct. The knife didn't kill Mikey on impact. Being taken out of his body is what killed him. _Maybe, _Don thought, _the killer stabbed him but not too hard and then took the knife out Mikey's body. That would explain why Mikey didn't call us for help. _But Don's intuition flickered. It wouldn't explain why would the killer leave his blade, and something told him that Mikey did it. If Mikey were human, Don could check for finger prints, but they weren't, and turtles don't have finger prints. Not even mutant ones. Stumped, Don decided to check through all of their Shell Cells for any malfunctions just in case Mikey did call them. It only took an hour to scan them all, and all of the results showed that each phone was working fine. Don checked each phone's Inbox, Outbox, and Voicemail. None had anything to do with Mikey in trouble. This only proved that Mikey never called them.

Don lounged in his chair. So far most of his hunch was correct, but he couldn't figure out how to prove whether Mikey purposely took the blade out, ending his life, or whether the killer stabbed Mikey and took the blade out. Don wanted to believe the latter that Mikey's life was forcibly taken from him. Not that Mikey chose to end his life rather than call for help. Don glanced at the blade and noticed something on the handle. Blood. Don inspected it closely. The blood was near the top of the handle. It couldn't have been from the blood of Mikey's heart. If it was, then that would mean the impact of the blade killed Mikey, but Mikey didn't die that way. Don also knew that Mikey received a scar on his left hand. It looked very new, and it wasn't there when he last saw him (more tears flowed at this thought). This could be the proof Don was looking for. If the blood on the handle was Mikey's, Mikey pulled the blade out of him (which would make sense why the blade was discarded next to him). If it wasn't Mikey's, the blood belonged to the killer.

Don prepared the sample of blood for a DNA testing. He already had Mikey's DNA (along with his family's entire DNA) saved on his laptop for medical reasons and forensic reasons. Don thought it was just a precaution. He never dreamed he would have need of it. Bile began to rise in Don's throat, and it took all of strength to push it back down. Don started the process. Usually, this would take a week or so, but with Don's supercomputer of a laptop combined with his advanced intelligence, it only took an hour. An hour later, and the results were in. The blood was Mikey's. Then Don's hunch was correct. He had to tell his family. They deserved to know.

Don poke hid head out of his lab and called, "Guys, Master Splinter, come here!"

Raph, Leo, and Master Splinter entered Don's lab. "What is it, my son?" Master Splinter asked. He had to remain strong for his sons, but it was hard to do so when the sight of his dead son laid on Donatello's lab table.

"I found so more information on how Mikey died," Don said and choked up some more tears.

The three of them sympathetically waited for Don to continue. Through the grace of God, Don managed to make his voice steady. "It turns out that I was right: the blade wasn't deep enough to kill Mikey on impact. What killed him was when the blade was pulled out. I wanted to know who pulled it out, and I found blood at the top of the handle. I knew it couldn't be blood from Mikey's heart. If it was, then that mean the knife was in deep enough to kill Mikey instantly which it didn't. I also noticed a deep scar on Mikey's left hand that wasn't there before. If the blood was Mikey's, it came from that scar which meant that Mikey pulled out the knife. If it wasn't Mikey's, it came from the killer for some unknown reason, didn't take the knife with him. I performed a DNA test and found it to be Mikey's blood. Mikey pulled out the knife. Then I checked to see if Mikey had ever tried to call us. I ran a can on our Shell Cells including Mikey's to see if there were any problems. All of them were working fine. Then I checked each of the Shell Cell's Inbox, Outbox, and Voicemail. None were about Mikey calling for help. This leads me to one conclusion: After being stabbed, the killer ran away. Instead of calling us for help, Mikey decided to end the pain and take the knife out, killing him."

Master Splinter bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you, my son, for providing us with this information." Don knew that Master Splinter was thanking him for providing his family with closure.

"But why would Mikey not call us rather than end his life? He knew that taking a knife out a wound like this would instantly kill him?" Leo asked.

"Maybe, the pain was too much for him, and waiting for us to get there would take too long and be too unbearable," Raph answered.

This sounded like a reasonable answer, but somewhere, in the same place where Don's empathy for Mikey dwelled, Don knew this wasn't the answer. It was more personal, and it had somewhat to do with what happened last night. And Don knew the answer. "No, that's not it, Raph. Mikey was so sick of being told to grow up, to change his ways or risk death, injury, or dismemberment from the team, that he chose to end his life rather than live his life conformed."

"How do _you _know?" Raph demanded.

Don shrugged his shoulders. "I just know. All Mikey wanted was to be himself. He wanted to be accepted by who he is, especially by the world. He wanted to make his dreams come true. Those dreams – and his personality – doesn't include ninjutsu. However, the world doesn't accept who Mike is much less would allow him to make his dreams of being a graphic novelist come true. So I guess, the best Mikey could hope for was for us to accept him for who he was, and we didn't. That must have hurt him really bad. I can somehow relate. Like Mikey, I don't really want anything to do with ninjutsu. I didn't want to deal with anything that causes violence. No, I rather make my dreams come true by making the world a better, more peaceful place by being an engineer, but the world's not gonna accept who I am. They would rather dissect me instead so I grudgingly took up ninjutsu to protect myself. Something that isn't really me. I knew Mikey should do the same thing, but I guess Mikey refused to change. He'd rather die being himself than change who he is for the world." Don looked up at his family. This was the first time he was admitting this. He looked at Raph square in the eye. "That's how I know."

Master Splinter remembered that he asked Michelangelo would he like his antics to be the cause of his own death. It seems now that Michelangelo's answer is yes. He was disappointed in his son yesterday, but now his son is dead not because he was murdered but because he chose his individuality over the person he wanted his son to be. Master Splinter should have been greatly disappointed, _even pitying_, his son's choice, but he could not find himself more proud of his son. He knew Michelangelo was brave to choose death over a life of conformity and strong to retain his individuality within a family and a world that would rather see otherwise. Perhaps, Michelangelo was right, and he was wrong. Perhaps, he was the strongest one out of the four. Perhaps, when it came to living life, Michelangelo was the wisest one not him. It was something Master Splinter never taught his sons. But one thing Master Splinter now knows for sure and all of his sons now know:

Conformity can kill, but individuality can save your life.

"_The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."_ – Friedrich Nietzsche

* * *

><p><strong>Raph's whole speech about him being the Big dog in a dog-eat-dog world, and how sometimes he was envious of Mikey is actually true. I got it off from Raph's profile on the official website. So what do you think?<strong>


End file.
